Many learners struggle to engage with formal education. This can be for a range of reasons and there's no simple answer to any of them. This site is about reducing the barriers to engagement wherever possible. It will often focus on technology but that's only because technology has a lot to offer in many contexts. Other 'human based' approaches can be just as effective so they'll also get space when they cross the horizon.

Maps are handy for a lot of reasons. Not only do they help us navigate through certain areas, they also enable us to learn more about the world and what it has to offer. What if you’re someone who wants to create a map instead? Sure, there’s Google Map and ... Continue reading »

New premium features including Speech Input for Google Docs, Highlighting and Vocabulary support for web pages, and a new Simplify and Summarize tool for the web are now available. Continue reading for details (and videos!).

Oovoo provides free video chat and instant messaging for up to 12 people. The list of features includes screen and file sharing, as well as video voice mail. Users can also record a session and upload it to YouTube for learners who are unable to attend the live meeting. Practitioners can use this tool for exam review sessions, for example, and learners can set up small study groups.Note: The link is for PCs but there is one for Mac & Mobile from the landing page!

Simple English Wikipedia . Wikipedias are places where people work together to write encyclopedias in different languages. We use Simple English words and grammar here. The Simple English Wikipedia is for everyone! That includes children and adults who are learning English. There are 110,964 articles on the Simple English Wikipedia.

This tool will be of interest to teachers, scholars, genealogists, historians, and just about anyone with a need to share information about multiple locations. Best of all, the Basic plan is free and provides access to the functionality most individual users are likely to need.

Internet Archive is a new collection at Flickr where practitioners, and learners, can search through an archive of 2.6 million public domain images, all extracted from books, magazines and newspapers published over a 500 year period. This new Flickr archive accomplishes something quite important, it concentrates on images. How do you search through the archive? (It’s not entirely obvious) From the home page of the archive, users can do a keyword search. As they’re filling in the keyword, Flickr will produce a dropdown which includes the words “Internet Archive Book Images’ Photostream.” Users must make sure they click on those words, or else their search results will include images from other parts of Flickr.NOTE: All images can be downloaded for free. They’re all public domain.

Why speed reading for dyslexia?Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the speed reading app Spritz in the media. The idea behind this approach to speed reading is that to save time on eye movement, you only see one word on the screen at a time. With this approach you can very soon achieve much higher reading speeds. You can read more here.

alistairm 's insight:

Well worth having a look at these apps. They may not help all but could be great for some learners.

These days, when you’re asking your students to do research (on just about any topic), it is likely going to be online research, at least at the start. Most materials are easily available online these days, saving students the time and hassle of heading to the library to schlep home with 100 heavy books in …

alistairm 's insight:

Any fans of OER or accessibility ought to know about these. What better way of widening the reading list with digital content. Not all content will be equally accessible but digital content starts from a better place than hard copy!

In an emotional response to the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), Apple CEO Tim Cook soundly rejected the politics of the group and suggested it stop investing in Apple if it doesn't like his approach to sustainability and other issues.

With a range of academic and practical speakers covering good practice guidance on how we can support disabled learners, followed by the experiences of disabled learners using the education system and their perspectives on effective support and challenges to learning. Speakers and topics include:

If you have any queries on this event, or any specific requirements, please email equality@chester.ac.uk. This event takes place at Riverside Campus, room 119. See http://www.chester.ac.uk/find-us for more information.

Evernote's an amazingly powerful notebook app. But it can also be rather overwhelming at first. Here's everything you need to get started with Evernote and get your info saved into notes, organized with notebooks and tags. You'll even learn how to clip anything you find online into your notebook, and search like a pro. | Difficulty: Beginner; Length: Medium; Tags: App Training, Productivity, Evernote

If you've ever thought of getting into using Evernote, but weren't sure where to start, this would be a good place. Teachers can use Evernote to organise all sorts and share with students. It's a great tool, I'd recommend giving it a go.

A child born in England today can expect to live a longer, healthier life than ever before, yet, they still have a one in three chance of dying before they reach 75. Of all the factors affecting their chances of premature mortality, location is one of the most important. Because, even in England in 2013, how long we live depends greatly on where we live.

alistairm 's insight:

Great example of using health data in a meaningful and personally relevant way. See national and local variations as well as get info on risk reduction. Overall message - move south :-)

It's not that learning to code is a bad idea, just that the lack of understanding of what coding is (making e-cards? assembling websites from templates?) raises questions as to the value of the programme. Thoughful analysis - worth reading.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.